Wire brush abrading device



July 13, 1943. w. A. ANDERSON WIRE BRUSH ABRADING DEVICE Filed March 28,1941 Patented July 13, 1943 WIRE BRUSH ABRADING DEVICE Wilford A.Anderson, Minneapolis, Minn., as-

signor to G. H. Tennant Company, Minneapolis, Minn, a corporation ofMinnesota Application March 28, 1941, Serial No. 385,765

2 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in rotary abradingdevices and more particularly to cylindrical wire brushes.

Cylindrical wire brushes have heretofore been used in floor refinishingmachines in the operation of refinishing floors and other surfacesrequiring such treatment. Such brushes, however, have not provensatisfactory for certain classes of work because of the tendency of thewire bristles thereof accumulating foreign matter which may destroy theefliciency of the brush. This is particularly true when operating onindustrial floors which may have deposits of glue, grease, heavylubricating oils and steel chips, which material may be extremelydifficult to remove with an ordinary brush.

An important feature of the invention therefore, is to provide a rotaryabrading device or steel brush which is highly efiicient in operation,and which is not likely to accumulate foreign matter encounteredthereby, when operating on a floor, whereby the operation of refinishinga floor may be greatly expedited and better results obtained.

A further object of th present invention is to provide a rotary wirebrush composed of a plurality of disk-like brush elements or sectionssecured together in spaced relation upon a suitable supporting memberand disposed at an angle to the axis of said member, whereby when thebrush is operated on a floor, an axial motion is imparted to thebristles thereof in addition to the rotary action of the bristles,whereby a thorough scrubbing and cleaning action is imparted to thefloor the entire length of the brush.

A further object is to provide a rotary steel wire brush which issubstantially self-cleaning in operation.

A further object is to provide a sectional cylindrical wire brush inwhich the brush sections are disposed at an angle to the axis of thebrush, and means being provided in the construction of the brush fordynamically balancing it, when operated at high speeds, thereby toeliminate vibration.

Other objects of the invention reside in the simple and inexpensiveconstruction of theentire brush assembly, which comprises a plurality ofdisk-like brush sections spaced apart by annular spacing elements upon asuitable supporting member or core having means at its ends for securingthe brush sections and spacers in position thereon; in the provision ofa rotary wire brush which may be efiiciently operated on substantiallyall types of floors; in the provision of such a brush which, when thebristles thereof become worn, may be reversed upon its driving member,whereby new and sharper cutting surfaces may be presented to the flooras a result of the beveled ends of the tufts of steel wires constitutingthe disk-like brush sections; and, in

the provision of a wire brush of the character disclosed, which isextremely practical for heavy duty work and highly efiicient inoperation.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the followingdescription and accompanying drawing and will be pointed out in theannexed claims.

In the accompanying drawing there has been disclosed a structuredesigned to carry out the various objects of the invention, but it is tobe understood that the invention is not confined to th exact featuresshown as various changes may be made within the scope of the claimswhich follow.

In the drawing;

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of my improved brush, partiallybroken away to more clearly illustrate the construction thereof;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of one of the brush sections only;

Figure 3 is a view showing one of the spacers for spacing apart thebrush sections;

Figure dis a View showing the weights provided at the ends of theassembled brush for dynamically balancing the brush, when inoperation;and

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view on the line 55 of Figur'e'l,

The novel rotary brush herein disclosed, is shown comprising asupporting member or sleeve 2, which is cylindrical in cross sectionandpreferably formed of sheet metal.

The completed brush, as shown in Figure 1, is composed of a plurality ofdisk-like brush sections, generally designated by the numeral 3, eachcomprising tufts 4' of steel wire, suitably secured in an annularsupporting element 5, which, as here shownfis made of two sections,suitably secured togetherl Thespecific construction of the wiresupporting element 5 and the means for securing the tufts of wirebristles 4 therein, forms no part of the present invention, and it istherefore thought unnecessary to show the particular manner of securingthe tufts thereto. I

An important feature of the present invention resides in the uniquemounting of the brush sections 3 on the supporting member or sleeve 2,whereby the brush sections are disposed at an angle to the axis a-a ofthe completed brush,

as illustrated in Figure 1. The disk-like brush sections 3 are spacedapart on the supporting member or sleeve 2 by suitable spacers 6, shownin Figures 1 and 3. The angular mounting of the brush sections on thesleeve 2 is such that the periphery of each brush section 3 will engagethe floor with an axial movement as well as a rotary movement, as shownat b at the right end of Figure 1, when the brush is rotated. Thespacing between the brush sections 3-4 and their inclination withrespect to the axis a-a, is also such that upon each revolution of theassembled brush, the surfaces of the floor engaged by the peripheries ofthe adjacent brush sections will overlap, as shown at 0, whereby it willbe noted that a complete and thorough scrubbing or abrading action maybe imparted to the floor the entire length of the completed brush, whenthe brush is rapidly rotated in the operation of the machine.

Because of the brush sections 33 being disposed at an angle with respectto the axis w-a, means must be provided for dynamically balancing thebrush to prevent vibration, when operating at high speeds. The meansprovided for thus dynamically balancing the brush, is best shown inFigures 1 and 4, and comprises annular wedgelike weight members I and 8,one provided at each end of the completed brush in diametrically opposedrelation, as shown in Figure 1. To secure the brush sections 3-3,spacers 6, and weight members 1 and 8 in position upon the supportingmember or sleeve 2, suitable flanges 9 may be formed at the ends of thesleeve member 2 by outwardly spinning the sheet metal, as clearly shownin Figure 1, whereby the parts 3, B, and I are secured thereto in fixedrelation. A suitable key [0, preferably spot welded to the supportingmember 2, is received in keyways ll provided in the parts 3, 6, and I toprevent relative rotation of said parts on the member 2. By thus keyingthe parts to the supporting member 2, they are non-rotatably securedthereto, whereby the sleeve may be rotated in either direction, as whenreversing the brush on'the driving member of the machine. The spacers 6are preferably made of aluminum to eliminate weight as much as possible,and the weight members 1 and 8 are preferably made of a relativelyheavier metal, such as brass, which I have found suitable fordynamically balancing the brush.

The spacing of the brush sections on the sleeve member 2| and the angleat which they are disposed with respect to the axis w-a, may be variedwithout departing from the scope of the invention, but it is to beunderstood that the sections 3-3 are so arranged on the supporting core2 that the portions of the floor engaged by each brush section willoverlap, as shown at b and c, to prevent the formation of streaks orgrooves in the floor, when the brush is operated thereon.

The simple and inexpensive construction of the rush, as a whole, is alsoimportant in that it reatly reduces the cost of manufacture. When hebristles of the brush sections 3-3 become worn, the brush may bequicklyrestored to, its original condition by removing the brushsections 33, spacers 6, and counterbalancing members 7 and 8 from thesupporting core 2, and assembling the spacers and weights upon a newcore with a new set of brush sections. In other Itl) words, the brushsections 33, when they become worn to a certain extent, may bediscarded, but the spacing elements and balancing members may be usedindefinitely, as will readily be understood. In some instances, it mayalso be found desirable to substitute for the flanges 9, other means forsecuring the parts of the brush in position on the supporting sleeve,whereby said parts may be removed from the sleeve without destroying thecore. However, because of the inexpensive construction of the sheetmetal core 2, I have found it practical to provide a new core and set ofbrush sections, each time the bristles 4 become sufiiciently worn torequire replacement.

By the use of the novel brush herein disclosed, industrial floors whichmay be considered very diflicult to refinish with conventional abradingelements or brushes, because of the accumulation thereon of foreignmatter, which may be more or less sticky and hard to remove, such assteel chips, glue, grease, and heavy lubricating oil, may be quickly andefficiently refinished without loss of time, because of theself-cleaning action of the brush. This self-cleaning action resultsbecause of the axial spacing and angular position of the brush sections3 on the supporting member or sleeve 2, whereby foreign matter tendingto adhere to the bristles 3 is quickly thrown off by the gyratory motionof the brush, when in operation.

I have also found, from actual experience, that a machine equipped witha brush constructed in accordance with the present invention, requiresless horse power to drive the brush, and the machine may also bemanually propelled over the floor with less effort, which obviously ishighly desirable in apparatus of this general character.

I claim as my invention:

l. A rotary abrading brush comprising a supporting member, a series ofdisk-like brush sections each composed of a plurality of radiallydisposed twisted cable-like tufts of relatively stiff wire bristles,means for spacing apart said sections on the support and whereby theyare disposed at an angle to the axis of the supporting member, wherebywhen the abrading roll is in operation, a scrubbing and cleaning actionis imparted to the floor or surface being treated, the entire length ofthe brush, and suitable wedgeshaped annular weights being secured tosaid support in diametrically opposed relation fordynamically balancingthe brush, when operated at high speed.

2. In a rotary abrading device, a'tubular supporting member, a pluralityof disc-like brush sections mounted on said supporting member inparallel relation, annular spacing members mounted on said supportingmember between said brush sections thereby to space them apartlengthwise of the device, all of said brush sections being angularlydisposed with respect to the, axis of the supporting member whereby whenthe device is rotated, the bristlesof said brush sections will engagethe floor or surface being treated with a scrubbing action directedlengthwise of the device, each brush section comprising a plurality ofradially disposed tufts of wire, and the wires of each tuft beingtwisted to simulate a steel cable.

WILFORD A. ANDERSON.

